EARLY RISING ON CHAUTAUQUA LAKE

A daily journal of our lives (begun in October 2010), in photos (many taken by my wife, Evie) and words, mostly from our home on Chautauqua Lake, in Western New York, where my wife Evie and I live, after my having retired from teaching English for forty-five years in Hawaii, Turkey, and Ohio. We have three children, seven grandchildren, and two great-grandsons, as you will notice if you follow my blog, since we often travel to visit them. : Photo First Paddle Of 2026: 3/10/26: 8:03

Wednesday, May 6, 2026

Rain And More Rain

An Inventive Barber Shop

7:55

I have been up since 6:00, watching the gray sky lighten. It started raining yesterday evening and continued most of the night — two inches total — and it looks like it will keep up for much of the day. No kayaking for me. I spent the first hour signing up with American Airlines and Enterprise Rent-A-Car, since we will probably be using both next week.

Yesterday was a long day, probably because there wasn't much we had to do. I did get in a good paddle to start things off. Evie was up when I returned, and we put together a blog honoring our son-in-law, Rami, who passed away on May 4th. I had a couple of phone calls to make, and both, surprisingly, were pleasant. We then sat around and made a list for Wegmans, and by 10:45 I was off. I stopped for coffee and talked with Dave, the honorary mayor, for about 15 minutes before heading over. It was 5% Tuesday, so the place was busy, but I maneuvered easily around the retirees and found a checkout line that moved quickly. There was a gal in front of me that I knew, and we traded hellos — but I couldn't for the life of me figure out how I knew her. It drove me crazy until it finally hit me on the way home. Pickleball player.

When I got back, Evie was talking with our daughter Beth. It looks like there will be a celebration of Rami's life on Saturday, May 16th, so we will probably fly out late next week and stay for a week or two. At least that's the plan for now. I heated up a chicken pot pie for lunch and started another series. The Night Agent. I watched the first season, skipped the second, and am jumping into the third.

I also started another book in the Gray Man series, Agent in Place. So far, I'm into it. I took a brief nap but had too much on my mind to really sleep. Neither of us did much the rest of the afternoon, other than try to sort out our plans for getting to Dallas next week. We think we've settled on flying, though that could easily change.

Five o'clock and wine time couldn't come soon enough. Dinner was baked potatoes and catfish, and we watched a couple of Hometowns and then the Cavs game. Evie lost interest pretty quickly and headed up to bed. I stuck with it to the end, which I probably shouldn't have — 19 turnovers, and they deserved to lose. I was happy to get back to my book.